Medieval Trove

A compilation of medieval resources: pictures, documentaries, festivals, books, films, articles, websites... everything an enthusiast or writer may want.

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What the English of Shakespeare, Beowulf, and King Arthur actually sounded like

Shakespeare in Love it ain't

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middle ages luxury

In an era when humility and poverty were often revered as Godly (as well as being quite fashionable), you may think that most medieval aristocrats and nobles were wearing rags and spending very little of their bounteous wealth on earthly possessions... but you’d be wrong. This documentary on Middle Ages Luxury is proof that when there’s a will, there’s a way, and that humans just love to show off their wealth: in whatever way possible. Some things never change!

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Only ladies who are of good reputation and worthy of praise will be admitted into this city. To those lacking in virtue, its gates will remain forever closed.

Christine de Pisan, from The Book of the City of Ladies

Although being considered one of history’s first feminists, some of Christine’s comments are very much unlike what 21st century feminists would say now; as this quote attests to. Her hetero-normative ideas are nothing like today’s gender versus sex discussions, as well as today’s rejection of shaming women and their choices. Still, Christine was a pioneer for her time, and proof that women considered their roles in society critically, even back in the middle ages.

To read more about Christine, visit: http://webpage.pace.edu/nreagin/tempmotherhood/spring02g/paper1-latestcopy-edited.htm

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Secrets of the Castle with Ruth, Peter and Tom Episode 1 BBC Documentary 2014

Secrets of the Castle with Ruth, Peter and Tom Episode 1 BBC Documentary 2014 Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold turn . Sec...

Ever wondered if that ruined castle you saw was actually what it looked like in its hey day? This show will tell you that in actual fact, it looked very different.

Secrets of the Castle is a great documentary show with loads of insight into what the homes of the medieval rich and noble looked like - and how the common people made them. You'll learn more than you think you would've, with the team in this documentary building a castle the way medieval people would have done it. Castles were a lot less bland and stone-walled as you might have first thought. A must see if you're a history buff, castle enthusiast or need to know more about what buildings ACTUALLY looked like in the middle ages.

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John Dee - Masters of Darkness

John Dee is an interesting character from the renaissance: as Queen Elizabeth’s Magician, his story is quite a volatile one and this documentary explores the ups and downs of his life and work.

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national geographic medieval fight book hdtv xvid fqm

A really fascinating documentary about a medieval fight book. The book sheds light on how wrong our modern ideas of medieval people and their lives are. Women fighting their husbands in combat, surprisingly advanced war machinery and intelligent engineering: medieval people just became a whole less medieval.

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Top 10 Medieval Movies

Strap on your shield and unsheathe your broadsword. Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the top 10 medieval movies. Special thanks t...

Just a bit of fun :-D.

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This blog is written by a fantastic historian, Amy Licence, whom gives readers an in depth look at medieval women’s lives in particular.

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This re-enactor’s website is so extensive, you could probably garner a great deal of information from it on how a 14th century English woman may have actually lived. From childbirth, to marriage, to jobs, to sewing; Rosalie covers it all.

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Tony Robinson's Crime and Punishment

Tony Robinson takes a look at the fascinating and sometimes bizarre origins of our laws, and what we do to people when they break them

I’ve only just begun watching this documentary series, but already love it. Tony Robinson has a real knack for entertaining documentary viewers with his quirky behaviour and scenarios, yet still gives some amazing insight into the lives of historical people. And if you find documentaries usually hard to swallow, he may be quite refreshing. This series is: Crime and Punishment, which starts with the Dark Ages and slowly progresses through history. 

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Inside the Medieval Mind - BBC Four

A series which examines the way people thought during Medieval times.

This documentary, “Inside the Medieval Mind” is an interesting way to get inside the heads of medieval people in a way we never can by just reading historical facts. This series looks at what medieval people thought and believed about knowledge, power, belief and sex. That’s right: they did have a lot of sex and weren’t as celebate, saintly and prudish as many of us may have thought! I especially liked their questionable contraceptive methods and their fascinating thoughts on women and their menstrual cycles: it really puts things that happened during this period into perspective. A great documentary to help get you into the head of your medieval characters - and an accurate and intriguing documentary to watch.

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Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England - BBC Two

Best-selling author Ian Mortimer transports viewers back to Elizabethan England.

I don’t usually post up links to renaissance documentaries or post up information on the renaissance, as this is a tumblr page dedicated to the Middle Ages, but once again I could not resist. I love this series and find the episodes very informative and full of insights into the world of old. If you have an interest in Elizabethan England, this is a must see.

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1/4 Mastercrafts - 3. Blacksmithing

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM4S2hGZDSE4ffSC-WJsm-6w1I4i4vhQw 3/6 Blacksmithing. The humble village smithy was, for centuries, the most important p...

Three hopefuls who want to learn how to be a blacksmith are put through their paces.

BBC's Mastercrafts looks at how medieval and ancient crafts were undertaken when our ancestors had none of our modern day machinery or production line factories to help them. This episode looks at Blacksmithing, but there are also episodes on Weaving, Pottery, Leather, Stonemasonry, Stained Glass, Thatching and Green Woodcraft. All the episodes feature a modern day master taking on apprentices in each profession, teaching them the same techniques used in bygone days. A great watch if you want to find out more about these crafts used in the Medieval era.

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Graffiti isn't a modern invention - people have been doing it for centuries. Check out the artwork of these medieval miscreants.

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The Ingenuity and Beauty of Creative Parchment Repair in Medieval Books

Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Msc.Nat.1 (9th century) Books repaired with silk thread. Uppsala, University Library, Shelfmark unknown (14th century) Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Msc.Patr.41, fol. 69r. Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Msc.Patr.41, fol. 69r. Detail. Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, MS 16, 12th c

Such amazing pictures. It just goes to show that nothing went to waste during this era; everything was precious. And what a great job they did in restoring these torn pages, recreating  them into beautiful works of art.

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Christmas is well and truly over and gone now, but have you ever wondered how people of Tudor England would have celebrated this festive day and season? A Tudor Feast at Christmas will bring you the knowledge you seek!

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Tony Robinson looks at the biggest event to happen in England's social history - The Peasants' Revolt